Alcohols and amides are important commodity feedstock for a variety of industrial products, and butanol, for example, is used as a precursor for the production of various products, such as adhesives, detergents, dental products, makeup, personal hygiene products, hydraulic brake fluids, paint thinners, pesticides, plastics, synthetic fruit flavorings, vitamins, and the like. Industrially, butanol is produced via gas phase chemistry, using oil and natural gas as feed stocks. 2-butanol is produced via the acid-catalyzed hydration of 1-butene or 2-butene, where 1-butene and 2-butene is obtained via catalytic cracking of petroleum. 1-butanol is produced via the hydroformylation of propylene to butryaldehyde, where the butyraldehyde is subsequently hydrogenated to 1-butanol. In addition to using non-renewable oil and natural gas as feedstocks, the overall process of industrially synthesizing butanol requires a large amount of energy, which generally comes from natural gas. The combustion of natural gas further contributes to increased concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and thus contributing to global climate change. Thus, there is a need to develop methods to produce alcohols economically, using easily available resources.